2.1 Dehydrocholic Acid
Bile acids and their conjugates are essential components of bile. The physiological effects of bile acids as a whole include: induction of bile flow; feedback inhibition of bile acid synthesis; modulation of cholesterol synthesis; elimination of cholesterol (bile acids are water-soluble products of cholesterol metabolism and also solubilize cholesterol in bile and promote intestinal cholesterol excretion); and facilitation of dispersion and absorption of lipids and fat-soluble vitamins.
Bile acids increase the output of bile and hence are called choleretic drugs. Dehydrocholic acid (also known as 3,7,12-Triketocholanic acid; Cholan DH; Decholin; Dehycol; Bilidren; Acolen; Cholagon; Chologon; Deidrocolico Vita; Didrojcolo; Hebile; Felacrinos; Dilabil; Bilostat; Oxycholin; and Procholon, Formula I, below), a semisinthetic cheolate, evokes the secretion of a bile of low specific gravity; it is therefore called a hydrocholeretic acid, which by thinning the bile facilitates its flow. The increase in bile flow evoked by bile acids is not a result of true cholepoiesis, since the augmented flow is only that necessary to secrete the increased load of bile acid imposed by that administered. ##STR1##